When Danno's away
by delicate-storm
Summary: When Danny leaves Hawaii to visit his family, he reluctantly leaves behind Steve to look after the children. Trouble ensues obviously


Steve woke up with Grace hovering over him and Grace looked worried and Steve went from sleep to concern in literal seconds.  
"Gracie what's wrong?" He said in a sleepy voice pushing himself up on his elbows. She didn't say anything and she looked over her shoulder as though there was some unknown assailant behind her and Steve's senses went into overdrive but then Grace sighed and in the dark he could see she looked embarrassed.

"I think it was a bad idea to watch that movie dad." Steve sighed, running a hand across his voice and he relaxed a little.

So maybe it had not been a good idea to watch a slasher horror movie called, _The Crawlspace of the mangled scallop atop the devil's mountain right before bedtime_. The silly title already sounded horrific but Grace had wanted to watch it because her friends had watched it and also her teen celeb crush was in the movie and she had assured Steve she would not be scared. She had even said in an adult fashion that it was only a movie.  
And most importantly she had sworn that Danny would never found out about it. Danny who had laid down the law that she was not allowed to watch it because it had an age restriction on it but Grace had seized the moment that Danny was out of town to convince Steve that it was quite okay for her to watch it.

Apparently not.

"Grace it was just a movie." Steve said, and didn't add that it had been a really, really awful movie, he had thought that the entire time that they had been watching it.

"I know it was a movie! But now my room looks a lot more creepier than usual." Grace looked around and sighed. "Can I sleep here?" She finally asked.  
"Yeah of course." He pushed back the blankets and moved Charlie into the center of the bed. Charlie who had been restless because Steve had let him run out on the beach all afternoon and forgotten a hat and sunscreen, and now he was a little sunburned but the skin protection he had picked up at the drugstore was helping and the kid had finally fallen asleep but had found his way like Grace to Steve and Danny's room and had curled himself up beside Steve and slept now soundlessly.

Grace crept in beside her brother.  
"We are not telling Danno any of this okay." Steve told Grace who raised her fist and they fist bumped in the dark.  
"Not a word." She said.  
"That's my girl." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and she snuggled closer to Charlie who moved closer to Steve, his breathing was soft and pleasant.

"Daddy was right, that movie was bad." Grace said and she and Steve laughed and Charlie stirred in his sleep at the sudden noise.  
"Sssshhhhh baby." Steve whispered softly with the laugh still in his throat, he pulled Charlie tighter to him and Charlie reached out and grasped a fist full of Steve's sweater and started to relax again.

"Danny is gonna love that he was right."Steve whispered.  
"Yeah he is." Grace responded and he listened as she too very soon drifted off slowly to sleep.

Danny was away. He had gone back home to his family. His mother wasn't doing well again and it all revolved around Matthew, Matty, Danny's brother who had died so tragically, that it felt like the hole that his death had left would never be healed especially for his mother.  
And Danny had left Hawaii on the first flight out and left for Jersey. It had been with some trepidation, Danny didn't trust Steve's parenting skills and was sure that in the time he was away Steve was going to burn the entire house down and let the children run riot and do whatever they wanted to. Steve smiled smugly, joke is on you Danny at the very least the house is still standing.

His phone vibrated on the small bedside cupboard and he prayed. Don't be work. Don't be work. Don't be work. And he looked at the screen which blinded him temporarily and saw it was a text message from Danny.

"I can't sleep." The message simply said. Steve smiled sadly, Danny and his never ending problems with insomnia, a problem that had flared up again ever since they had found Matty.

"Hey is everything alright?" He typed quickly and he watched how Danny went from online to typing and typing and typing. And Steve waited impatiently for Danny's reply. Danny and technology he thought shaking his head.

"Kind of alright now, but I don't think it's ever going to be okay again."  
"Yeah I understand." And Steve did understand, after his own father died there had been a grieving process that he never thought would ever end. It was never something you got used to, losing someone, you just learned to cope. And Steve wished Danny was right there with him so he could tell him those things instead of being miles away talking via a phone.

"Don't freak out on me, but I miss Hawaii, and I miss the kids and I miss my bed." Danny typed and Steve smiled brightly.  
"What about me?" He wanted to know.  
"What about you?"  
"Don't you miss me?"  
"Nah not even a little." And Danny inserted an emoticon with a tongue sticking out.  
"Well I miss you."  
"I miss you too, is the kids okay?" Steve looked over at both of them sleeping side by side. "They're great, Charlie keeps asking about you." It was the first time that Danny had been away from Charlie for this long and the kid was asking for his father every day.

"Why would you tell me that?" Danny asked.  
"So you know how much we miss you." He imagined Danny's face on the other side of the country smiling.

"Why are you awake?" Danny asked. Shit, Steve thought.  
"Couldn't sleep either." He immediately replied.

"Welcome to my nightmare." Danny replied not suspecting anything and then quickly typed. "You should get some sleep, you got work in the morning and you have to get the kids ready."  
"Danny I know what to do." He said confidently, but the truth was he was not so sure of what he was doing. And he respected everything Danny did for their family so much more now in his absence.

"I'm just saying." Danny replied.

"Everything's under control stop worrying."

"Worrying is kind of my thing."

"I got this okay Danno."

"I love you."

"You love me?" Steve typed.

"Shut up."

"Love you too."

"I love you most."

"I love you the mostest."

"That's not even a word."

"Good night Daniel."

"Good night Steven."

Steve put his phone away and slowly he fell asleep too.

He woke up, the sun was shining a little too brightly and Steve thought that was kind of weird and then it hit him as he looked over at the alarm clock it was after ten o' clock. It was after ten o' clock and the kids was asleep and they should have been in school and he should have been at work and Danny was right this house was out of control when he was in control and Danny was going to kill him.

"Grace, Gracie wake up." He whispered shaking her awake and that seemed to wake Charlie out of his slumber and the first word out of his mouth was of course. "Danno?"  
"He isn't home yet silly." Grace said.  
"Grace what did we say about calling your brother names?"

"That sticks and stones may broke bones but words will never hurt him?"  
"Grace?" Steve said with a little more strictness in his voice.  
"Okay," Grace said frustrated. "Charlie daddy's not home yet, just a few more sleeps." She reached out and tickled him until he squealed with laughter and Steve felt the piercing of a headache starting.

His phone rang and he looked down at it, it was Kono.  
"You're late boss." She said and she could hear the laughter of Grace and Charlie in the background.

"Are you dropping them off at school?" She asked.  
"I wish, in fact we just woke up."

"Brah you are in so much trouble." She said like he didn't know it already and needed a reminder.  
"I know, I know, listen can you just handle things there while I do something here.'  
"Sure boss, just call if you need any help."  
"I need help right now." He said immediately and she laughed thinking he was joking and she didn't know that he actually meant it, he looked at Grace who was now lifting Charlie off the bed and off he went like the bundle of energy he was.

"See you later." Steve told Kono and then looked at Grace. "It's after ten o' clock." She looked at the watch and then at him horrified and he thought she was going to say it too, that he was in so much trouble instead she said. "I am not going to make it for cheerleading practice!"  
"I know and I am sorry and…'  
"Daddy's going to kill you." She said.  
"I thought you had my back."  
"Hey you have to watch your own six." Steve smiled that she was using his own jargon like it was completely normal and he felt proud until she whispered pointing a finger. "This is your fault." And didn't she sound in that moment like her father, one Danny Williams.

"I let you watch the hiding place of the confused scallop on satanic mountain Grace."

"It's called The crawlspace of the mangled scallop atop the devil's mountain!"  
"Whatever, we are not telling Danny about this." He held out his hand and she shook it.

"Deal."  
"I need coffee." Steve said.  
"You need daddy."  
"I need that too." Yes he needed that more than anything else. Inside they heard something drop on the floor which was followed very quickly by a loud "Oops."

Steve stood for a while feeling that headache getting stronger with momentum.  
"Charlie." Steve groaned walking downstairs and Grace followed him moaning and complaining that sure she didn't like school but she liked cheerleading and she was missing her practice.

"It wasn't me." Charlie said standing by a dropped carton of milk, the milk was spread dramatically across the floor and some of the spillage was on Charlie's pajama shorts.

"Yeah it wasn't you Charlie I can see that." Steve said wiping the milk moustache that was across the boy's lips.

"You are so busted." Grace told him.

"Why couldn't you just wait till I got here?" Steve asked picking Charlie up and he wondered how serious Kono had been about offering to help him.

"You were talking to Gracie." He said wrapping his arms around Steve's neck.  
"But you could have waited." Charlie shrugged like maybe that thought had never occurred to him. "Dad I'm hungry."

"So am I." Grace added. And Steve looked at the kitchen, spilled milk, a dangerous looking mountain of dishes in the sink, dirty counter tops and this was just the kitchen. He didn't want to turn around and look at the rest of the house. It was a disaster, an unnatural disaster that just the three of them had managed to create in the short period that Danny had been away.

"What if we all go have breakfast at Kamekono's?" Steve asked which didn't have to be asked twice because the children loved the big guy a lot. "Huh? Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" Charlie answered for both himself and Grace, who seemed to have temporarily forgotten about cheerleading all together now.

"Okay!" Steve put Charlie down. "I'm going to clean up here and can you get your brother ready Grace." And she pulled a face because yes she could get her brother ready, but she really, really didn't want to do it at all.

"Grace remember the movie." Steve said and she rolled her eyes, oh my god he was going to hold that against her for the rest of her life, that stupid movie that had scared her and her favorite actor had died in the first twenty minutes screaming like a banshee as the scallop attacked him. That dumb movie had not been worth all this grief at all.

"I'll get Charlie ready." She said with a forced smile taking her brother by the hand and taking him back upstairs.

Steve looked at the kitchen disaster and wondered where to begin. Maybe he could throw away all the dirty plates and cups and utensils and buy everything new. That genuinely seemed like a terrific idea until he thought how he would have to explain it to Danny. He sighed, start with the mess at your feet Steve he told himself and picked up the milk carton. From upstairs he could hear Grace arguing with Charlie and he was waiting for it patiently as he wiped up the milk. The evitable it.

"Dad!" They shouted in unison. There it was.  
"Dad Charlie won't listen to me!"  
"Dad Grace is hurting me!"  
"And you're both hurting dad's head." Steve whispered to himself.  
"I wanna dress myself!" Charlie screamed.  
"He wants to wear his Batman costume!"  
"And I want a drink." Steve whispered calmly. Was it too early for a drink he pondered? No it couldn't be too early when your house looked like a hurricane had roared through it and you had two children screaming at each other and you were missing your husband like crazy. No then a drink was downright needed.

"Danno!" Charlie shouted and Steve heard the boy's footsteps come down the stairs.  
"Charlie three more sleeps and then Danno's home okay buddy." Three more sleeps felt like a life time away.  
"Danno!" Charlie sounded excited and Steve looked up and saw the boy at the door and lift himself up on tiptoes trying to reach the handle.  
"Charlie what are you doing?" Steve asked walking over and the door handle turned but it wasn't Charlie who was turning it, it came from the other side and Charlie stood back and the door opened wide.

"Daddy!" Charlie shouted running at Danno who was there in the flesh and not in Jersey, not miles away, no he was right there. And Danny picked up his son who hugged him tightly. "Hey baby." Danny whispered in the soft curve of Charlie's neck.

"Daddy." Grace said running down the stairs and she embraced her father as he dropped a kiss on her head.

"You're supposed to be in New Jersey." Steve said and Danny looked at him.  
"Really that's what you have to say to me?" Danny asked.

"I mean I am so happy to see you but you said you'd be back on Thursday and it's not Thursday." Oh my God was it Thursday could he have lost tracked of time during the chaos Steve thought.

"Well I cancelled the flight for Thursday my mother is fine and she has my sister's and I thought I would surprise you."

"Oh I am very, very, very surprised." Steve said. And kinda freaked out and why surprises Danny, why?  
"Did you bring us something?" Grace asked.

"Yeah my bags is on the porch can you two bring them in?" Danny asked giving both of them kisses and they hurried off out of the house and Steve waited for it.

"Why are they home?" Danny asked. "Why aren't they at school?"

"We overslept." Steve said he was giving up he wasn't even going to lie, he was busted he had nowhere to run or hide.

"Oh did you." Danny said and he started walking over and Steve swooped over and stood in front of him.

"I am so happy to have you home I missed you so much babe." Steve leaned in for a kiss and Danny lifted his hand and placed it over Steve's face and pushed it away.  
"Don't even try."  
'I missed my husband so very much is it too much too get a kiss huh?"

"Is that the movie we told Grace she couldn't watch?" Danny asked pointing at the DVD case of The crawlspace of the mangled scallop atop the devil's mountain that was on the coffee table.  
"Yes it is."

Danny pushed Steve out of the way and stared at the living room that looked like maybe it had been in the horror movie itself.  
"What did you tell me when I said I was worried about leaving you here alone with them for two weeks?"  
"I told you, you worry too much and I would not screw this up."

"And yet here we are." Danny walked through the rest of the house his arms waving around at the mess and he looked at the kitchen and he shook his head. "Please don't tell me that is laundry laying in the sink."

"It's laundry in the sink, I was going to clean it up."

"Sure you were when you were expecting me back on Thursday right." Danny said with a smile.

"Listen, nobody knows right now how much I have screwed up. You were right Danny and I don't give you enough credit for keeping this house running and getting us up on time and getting everyone to school and you are so much better at disciplining them, they don't really listen to me."

"Oh wow this is quite the breakthrough Steven, I am right and you were wrong."

"Can I get that kiss now." Steve asked and Danny couldn't hide his smile or hide the fact that he really just wanted to kiss Steve so badly and had missed him so much.

Steve took Danny's face in his hands and they kissed slowly like they had all the time in the world.  
"You were wrong about one thing Danny." Steve said. "You said I would burn the house down look it's still standing."

"If I were you I'd just shut up right now and just kiss me." Danny said pulling Steve's head closer for another kiss.

"Yes sir."

A/N I would like to thank my friend for giving me the ridiculous movie title that Gracie watches. Thanks Alan you're the best I wanted a terrible movie title and he delivered.

Thanks for reading and keep well!


End file.
